Holdback for vehicles.



No. 637,066. Patented Nov.'l4, I899. A. A. ARTHUR.

HOLDBAOK 'FOR VEHICLES.

(Application filed Sept. 98, 1897.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ASA A. ARTHUR, OF MARSHFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

HQLDBACK FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 637,066, dated November 14, 1899.

Application filed September 28, 1897. Serial No. 653 ,344. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ASA A. ARTHUR, of Marshfield, county of Plymouth, Stateof Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Holdback-Attaching Devices, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

Various attempts have been made to provide for the holdbacks of harnesses a means of attachment to the thills by which may be obviated the necessity for complicated wrappings of the straps about the thills, buckling, &c. So far as I am aware, however, these devices can only be used with any degree of success when applied to the top or side of the thill, and there exists no device which may be applied to the under side of the thills in a pleasure-carriage and will in such a situation automatically receive a closed loop at the end of a holdback and retain the same normally in spite of the usual shaking and the strains in constantly changing directions during motion of the horse, combining with this function the additional capability of automatically releasing the animal if the failure of the traces permits a strain to be brought upon the holdback inan abnormal direction.

The provision of such a device is the object of this invention, the various features whereof 'will be fully illustrated and described in the accompanying drawings and specification and set forth in the claims.

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a portion of a thill provided with a holdbackattaching device constructed in accordance with my invention with a holdback shown in place. Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of the device separate from the thills. Fig. 4 is a View in side elevation of a modification to be described. 7

In the preferred embodiment of my invention selected for description and illustrated in the drawings, Figs. 1 and 3, the. component parts of the device may be attached to the thills A, of which only one is shown,either above, below, or at the sides, as convenient or desired and by any suitable means, though I prefer to utilize a base or plate I), attached to the under side of the thill for the sake of concealment by screws or bolts in the holes b or other suitable means, if unusual rigidity is desired. Usually, however, the base I) will be supported with sufficient stability if a hold back-post be utilized of the form I have illus trated at b, this consisting of a shank to pass through a hole in the central portion of the base b and into the material of the thill, to engage which the shank has a threaded portion 1) near one end, while beyond the base extends the head 5 to receive the holdback, serving also, preferably, to engage the base b and hold it against the thill. The head of the post is preferably sheared from its base forwardly and also inwardly, (the left-hand side of the drawings being considered as the front of the thills and the observer as stationed Within them,) presenting inclined surfaces b b, the function of which will be described later. This form of post I prefer, but do not limit myself to it, inasmuch as any post, however constructed or mounted, may

be utilized if suitably arranged to cooperate with the retaining means, which is carried by the thill adjacent the point of support of the post and has a suitable pivotal mounting, in this instance on the base I), the chief function of the latter being this one of supporting the keeper 0. The essential feature of this keeper is the connected members 0 c, of which the former serves to engage the loop (1 of the holdback D near the extremity of and to prevent escape of the same from the head of the post, while the member 0' controls the operation of the other member, being in turn governed by the position of the loop d, and this loop the member 0 is positioned to engage at any normal position of the holdback, so that accidental rotation of the keeper about its pivot b and consequent escape of the holdback from the post will be impossible normally.

To release the holdback, it is only necessary to swing it around the post in the vertical plane of the thill into substantially the position shown in dottedlines in Fig. 3, when, the loop releasing the member 0' and engaging the member 0, the keeper 0 will be rotated about its pivot b and the loop d be free to drop or be drawn away from the device.

To insert the holdback, it is approached to the device while the keeper is in the dottedline position, Fig. 3, and the latter swung around to the full-line position.

The chief divergence from existing devices lies in so establishing the position of the members of the keeper 0 relatively to each other and to the post that mere longitudinal or other normal change of position of the holdback-loop cannot operate to release it, inasmuch as however far the loop may be pushed over the post the member 0 will still engage it as soon as the keeper starts to rotate, and at no time can the loop get away from the post until the member 0 shall have swung forward a considerable distance in front of the post, the member normally when in operative position preferably standing well to the rear of the post, as illustrated. These features with abundant clearance for release are provided for, preferably, by locating the pivotal point of the keeper near the longitudinal axis of the post and having the member 0 at some distance therefrom.

For lightness and symmetry I prefer to make the keeper up from sheet metal in the form of a double yoke, one constituting the controlling member with the bearings forthe pivot at the base of its arms and the other united thereto with its base joining the arms of the former at an intermediate point and substantially at right angles, this yoke constituting the retaining member. The construction of the keeper 0 may, however, be varied, as desired, provided the normal retention of the holdback be insured in accordance with the spirit of my invention.

It is desirable that under certain contingencies-as, for example, breakage of the traces and lowering of the thillsno resistance should be oifered to escape of the animal from the vehicle, and means to accomplish this I have provided in this instance by shearing the post to present the inclined surfaces 1) b, to which reference has been made above. To understand the operation of this important feature of my invention it is only necessary to imagine the intermediate portion of the holdbacksay the broken end d as grasped and drawn toward the observer and then around to the left, this corresponding to the action of the horse in going out toward the front of the shafts in accordance with my opening description, when the observer of the drawings is considered as standing between the thills. The first elfect of this pull is to draw the loop from under the member 0 and to bring the portion (Z of the loop against the member 0, the tendency being to rotate the keeper forward, and this would continue until the loop portion (1 should engage the rear surface of the post, when if the latter surface were perpendicular to the thill the rotation would be stopped. The incline (see Fig. 2,) however, permits the lower edge of the portion (Z to be drawn inward toward the horse, and the incline b permits it to be drawn forward, with resulting action upon the lower part of the memher 0 and rotation of the same, cramped around, as it were, by the loop until the memher 0 clears the post and the loop escapes.

A band 61 maybe provided fixed to or sliding on the loop to prevent the latter from slipping to and fro on the post to an undesirable extent, or other suitable means to the same end may be provided, either in connection with or in place of the band-as, for example, a stop 11 (see Fig. 4)preferably formed by upturning the end of the base 1).

Having thus fully described my invention, it will be understood that I do not limit myself to the exact construction herein illustrated, since the same maybe considerably varied without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a depending holdback-post, of a keeper supported pivotally at a point closely adjacent said post, and to swing bodily into position in front of said post and to the rear thereof, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a holdback-post, of a keeper supported pivotally, said keeper having a controlling member and a connected retaining member to swing together in front of said post, and to the rear thereof, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a holdback-post, of a keeper supported pivotally adjacent said post and having a controlling member and a retaining member, said keeper being adapted to swing bodily to the front of said post to permit application of the holdback thereto, and to the rear of said post into position to engage said holdback and cooperate withthe same to retain it upon the post when said holdback is in operative position, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a thill of a vehicle and a looped holdback, of a post on the under side of said thill to receive said loop, and a keeper supported pivotally at a point closely adjacent said post, and to swing bodily into position in front of said post and to the rear thereof, to engage said holdback and retain it upon said post when said loop is in proper position, and to release said loop when it assumes an improper position relatively to said thills.

5. In a holdback-attaching device the combination with a holdback-post having its head sheared from the base forwardly and inwardly, of a keeper pivoted adjacent the base of said head and provided with a retaining member standing to the rear of and at some distance from said post when in operative position, substantially as described.

6. A device of the class described, comprising a holdback-post, a base or support trans-. fixed thereby, and a keeper supported pivotally by said base, said post having a holdback-receivin g portion extended beyond said base on one side, and an integral attaching port-ion extended beyond said base on the opposite side thereof and adapted to engage a thill to secure said device thereto, substantially as described.

7. In a holdback-attaching device a hold? back-post, a keeper-support adjacent said post and a keeper mounted pivotally on said support, said support having an auxiliary projection or stop extending outwardly in the same direction as said post, substantially as described.

8. In a holdback-attaching device; a holdback-post'; and a keeper pivoted adjacent said post; said keeper having a retaining member ASA A. ARTHUR.

Witnesses:

OLIVE P. BLAoKMAN, LAURENCE E. BLACKMAN. 

